2018 Boston Marathon Registration FAQ

The latest information on how to qualify for next year’s marathon, including qualifying times.

The Boston Marathon is unlike other marathons, which is part of its appeal. You can’t just sign up whenever you wish. Most runners need a qualifying time from another marathon, and that qualifying time has to have been run with a set date range on a certain type of course.

Below are questions and answers about what we know today about registration for the 2018 Boston Marathon. We'll update this page as new information becomes available.

Q. When is the 2018 Boston Marathon?A. The race will be held on Monday, April 16, 2018, which is Patriots’ Day in Massachusetts. It will be the 122nd running of the marathon.

Q. How many people can run it?A. The 2018 field size will be announced in the summer of 2017. For the 2015, 2016, and 2017 races, the field size was 30,000, and about 80 percent of entries were reserved for time qualifers.

Q. When does registration open?A. Registration for the 2018 Boston Marathon opens at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Monday, September 11.

Q. How does registration work?A. As in previous years, registration will occur on a “rolling admission” schedule, beginning with the fastest qualifiers, and remained open until all qualifier spots had been filled. Preference was given to those who had run the fastest under their age and gender qualifying standard (see below for the 2018 standards).

Monday, September 11: Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 20 minutes or more.

Wednesday, September 13: Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 10 minutes or more (if space remains).

Friday, September 15: Qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard by 5 minutes or more (if space remains).

Saturday, September 16: Registration closes at 10 p.m. ET.

Monday, September 18: All qualifiers who have met the qualifying standard (if space remains) may submit an entry.

Wednesday, September 20: Registration closes at 5 p.m. ET.

Registration from September 11-20 will not be first-come, first-served. The fastest qualifiers in gender and age groups will be given entry as space allows.

If space remains after this initial period, then on Monday, September 25 registration will re-open to anyone who meets the qualifying standards on a first-come, first-served basis.

For the last four years, some runners with a qualifying standard did not gain entry, because more than 24,000 (the rough number of qualifier spots) tried to register. For the 2017 marathon, 2,957 time qualifiers were not accepted. For the 2017 race, runners needed to better their age and gender standard by at least 2:09.

Until registration opens, there is no way of knowing whether some time qualifiers will be shut out and, if so, how much faster than one’s standard it will be necessary to run to ensure gaining entry.

Q. What are the qualifying standards?A. For 2018, the qualifying standards for the Boston Marathon are the same as for previous years:

Age Group

Men’s

Women’s

18-34

3:05

3:35

35-39

3:10

3:40

40-44

3:15

3:45

45-49

3:25

3:55

50-54

3:30

4:00

55-59

3:40

4:10

60-64

3:55

4:25

65-69

4:10

4:40

70-74

4:25

4:55

75-79

4:40

5:10

80+

4:55

5:25

Runners younger than 18 aren’t allowed to register for the marathon. A runner’s age on the day of the 2018 marathon is the one that determines what age-group standard that runner must meet. To enter the 2018 race, a Boston-qualifying time must have been run on or after September 17, 2016. The qualifying period will remain open until the conclusion of registration.

Q. Have those always been the qualifying standards?A. No. Qualifying was first introduced for the 1970 race, and the standards have changed a number of times since then.

A quick look at the 2017 Boston Marathon.

Q. Are net times or gun times used for qualifying standards?A. Net times (i.e., from when a runner crossed the start line to when the runner crossed the finish line) are used for qualifying standards.

Q. Where can qualifying marathons be run?A. In the U.S., marathons must be run on a course certified by USA Track & Field. Overseas marathons must be certified by that country’s athletic federation. A list of top qualifying U.S. marathons can be found here. A searchable database of certified courses in the U.S. can be found here. To find the perfect qualifying race near you, try our Race Finder tool.

Q. How can non-qualifiers enter the marathon?A. The B.A.A. sets aside a few thousand numbers for runners affiliated with one of the marathon’s official charities. These runners do not have to run a qualifying marathon. The charities are given numbers to distribute to runners, who usually pledge to raise a substantial amount of money for the charity. Charity runners go through the charity they're running for, rather than the qualifier registration system, to sign up for the marathon. Charities open registration for their available numbers at various times during the year.

Find our guide to the Boston Marathon charity program here and on the B.A.A.’s guide here.

Q. Are there ways to get in other than a time qualification or charity?A. There are, but you need to either be really fast or know somebody. Invited elites don’t necessarily have a previous marathon qualifying time (though they’ve all run impressive non-marathon distances). A certain number of entries for sponsors, the cities and towns along the course, and the media are set aside each year, along with promotional entries and other special invitations. For more details on these, see Amby Burfoot’s article asking if the qualifying standards should be changed.

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